Typewriter



Dec. 28, 1937. w. A. FOWLER TYPEWRI TER Filed Ma 20, 1936 s sheets-sheet 1 W. A. FOWLER Dec. 28, 1937,

TYPEWRITER Filed May 20, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIII 35 types in all relatively shifted Patented Dec. 28, 1937,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

Although all phases of the invention are not confined thereto, the invention relates to typewriters especially adapted for musical notation and has for a principal object, to provide a typewriter of this kind which conforms as closely as possible to standard typewriter construction. A-

music writing typewriter in accordance with my invention can be made from standard typewriter parts, with a very few additions "and substituthe machine even for a relatively limited market.

One fundamental diiference between-ordinary typewriting and the typewriting of musicis that in the latter the successive notes must be printed at different levels upon the various lines and spaces of the music staff, instead of in a continuous horizontal line. While this might in a crude way be accomplished by revolving the platen of a standard typewriter, the disadvantage arises that the paper slips on the platen and soon becomes displaced by constant feeding up and down and back and forth. .I, therefore prefer to leave the, paper in a flxed'position on the platcnfor printing each staff of music and to utilize the case shift of the typewriter todetermine the vertical position on the paper at which each note is printed. The case shift may be employed to move the platen mechanism as a whole or may be employed to move the type mechanism as a whole so that there is produced relative movement between-the paper carried by theplaten and the typ A platen is provided with one or more flat faces, to support the paper for contact with the positions of the type bars and platen. I

The standard typewriter ribbon is one half inch wide, whereas a staff with its upper andlower ledger lines should be at least three quarters of an inch high. To have the ribbon interposed between the types and the paper in all positions at which the types may strike, it is desirable to shift the ribbon. Where the ribbon is oscillated from a position of rest below theprinting level, to the printing level, as each type strikes, the extent of oscillation can be varied according to the relative position of the type bars and platen. ,In typewriters having a color shift; mechanism this can be accomplished by connecting the latter 50 to the case shift lever. v

The flat-paper supporting surface can be either a stationary strip over which the paper is fed by the standard platen roller and counter-rollers; or the platen roller itself may have" several flat faces, preferably separated by cylindrical faces,

tions, making possible profitable manufacture of to provide the proper spacing between the staffs.

To permit accurate adjustment of the relative position of the type bars and the platen, there maybe provided a cani lever acting upon the case shift lever; preferably accompanied by a hand rest and supplemented by a pointer which points to the line or space on the stafi upon which the note will appear. The note types are preferably all centered upon the body of the note, without regard to the stem.

In typing harmony the carriage should not Y,

step forward after each typestrikes, because two 011110166 notes are to be written at one place one v above another upon various lines or spaces of the staif. For this reason' the connection between the universal bar and the escape mechanism may be removed, so that the carriage can only be advanced by striking the space key.

One of the types has five horizontal parallel lines for printing the staff and the key for operating this type is preferably placed next to the space key, so that-the two can be-struck at once.

The invention will be described in detail with reference to an illustrative form shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a perspective vlew'of one form of platen which may be used as a part of the invention,

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the paper feed roller and platen shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

Fig. 5 is a detail front elevation of one end of the platen shown in Fig. 3, showing its supporting and ratchet means,

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 8-8 of Fig, 1.,

Fig.9 is a view showing a sample of music which can be printed with the typewriter, and

Fig. 10 is a detail view of two of the types used in the typewriter.

The invention has been illustrated as embodied in a Remington Portable typewriter, modified only in certain respects, which will be pointed out, to adapiiglt tosthe, purpose of my invention.

Other commercial typewriters whether of portable or oflice type are equally suitable to serve as the basic machine to which my invention is applied. The invention may, however,'be incor-. porated into a wholly new machine, so long as the principles and purposes outlined above and defined in the appended claims are observed.

A carriage 2 is mounted in the rear part of a frame 4 so as to be capable of travelling crosswise of the frame and also, for a limited extent, vertically in the frame. The transverse movement of the carriage is guided by a ball bearing comprising an inner race 6 attached to the bottom of the carriage, a plurality of balls 8, and an outer race It) formed by the flanges of a channel member l2. The channel member is provided with ears I 4 at each end, pivotally connected, respectively, to two arms l6, l1 fixed upon a shaft. l 8.. The shaft' I8 is pivotally mounted in theside walls of the frame 4 and is surrounded by a helical spring 20, one end of which is connected to the shaft, while the other bears against the frame 4. The spring 20 partly counterbalances the weight of the carriage 2 as the latter moves up and down supported by the arms l6, II. In this movement the carriage is stabilized in its upright position by guide means attached to the back of the frame 4, which do not appear in the drawings. For shifting the carriage vertically there is a shift key lever 22 mounted upon a square shaft 24 pivoted in the side walls of the frame 4, the rear end of the key lever 22 being connected by a link 26 to the front end of the arm 16 at the right hand end of the shaft l8.

In the machine shown in the drawings the typebars 28 are pivoted in a comb 30 forming part of a stationary basket 32 and are operated by keys 134 through a type-bar actuating mechanism which need not be described. In the usual typewriter the paper is supported on a cylindrical platen and the type slug strikes the paper in a tangent position. The relative vertical movement of the carriage and the type basket is for the purpose of selectively bringing one of two vertically spaced rows of type to the position of tangency with the platen. In accordance with my invention the paper is supported by a flat platen, there is only one row of type on the type slugs, and the relative vertical shift of the -carriage and the type basket is used to change or adjust the level at which the individual type will strike against the paper. Thus in typing music a note can be placed upon any desired line or space of the music staff.

The flat platen may be provided for in various win, two of which are shown in the drawings. In Figs. 1, 2, 4, and '7 the standard cylindrical paper-feed roller 36 is supplemented by a flat strap 38 lying closely parallel to the roller, with its face parallel to the direction of the relative shift between the carriage and the type basket. The two ends of the strap are bent inward and perforated so as to embrace the shaft 40 of the feed roller. The ends of the strap are also provided with lugs 4| for attaching them rigidly to the frame 4. The paper is guided under the roller 36 by a guide 42 and counter rollers 44 acting through slots in the guide 42. passed over the front of the strap 38, which is to form the platen, and finally back into contact with the feed roller 36 by counter rollers 46 mounted upon spring supports 41, which may be modified from the standard shape to overlie the platen 38. By feeding the paper by contact with the roller 36 on both sides of the platen 38 it can be kept stretched taut on the face of the platen.

Instead of using a stationary strap over the paper-feed roll for a platen, I may shape the paper-feed roll itself with a suitable number of vertical spacing between the staffs. the usual *circular. ratchet wheel with evenly It is then flat faces of any suitable size and dispense with the strap. A platen of this kind is shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 6, where the shaft 40 has mounted upon it a body 48 of truncated triangular cross section, the surface of which is covered with a layer ofvulcanized rubber 50. Flat faces 52 are separated by cylindrical faces 54 determining the Instead of spaced .teeth for holding the platen in set position, this platen has a ratchet member 56 with only three notches 58, corresponding to the three faces of the platen. A spring pawl 60 mounted on 9. lug 64 projecting from the frame 4 is pro-' vided on its end with a roller 62 to engage the notches 58, for holding the'platen in any one of its three operative positions. The three faced platen is shown only by way of example, as I have found that this is the best number of faces to use on a platen to fit into the Remington Portable typewriter.

The number of keys in an ordinary typewriter is forty-two and this number is sufiicient to include all of the most commonly used characters for musical notation. Fig. 1 shows a keyboard which I have found adequate, the keys being arranged in the most convenient positions. It is usually undesirable to have the carriage advance after each note key is struck, because in typing harmony, as indicated at I40 and I4! for example in Fig. 9, two or more notes may have to be placed on the staff one above another withcated next to the space bar 10, so that the two can be struck simultaneously. The types are alined upon the type bars only with reference to the body of the .note and without regard to the stem. This is illustrated in Fig. 10, which shows two types 12 and 14 for printing eighth notes, one having an upwardly extending stem and the other a downwardly extending stem. The bodies of the notes are alined with each other so that both will be printed upon the same line or space of the staff with thecarriage in the same vertical position.

The difference in level of two notes separated by only one scalar division is small and would be difficult to gage with the ordinary shift key. To facilitate this adjustment I prefer to add a camming lever acting upon the shift key and having a relatively greater movementfor a given vertical movement of the carriage. As shown in Figs. land 8, this camming lever 16 is pivoted at 18 to the frame 4 and has fixed to it a hook 80 which overhangs the shaft of the left hand shift key 23 fixed upon square shaft 24. As lever 16 is pulled forward it bears down on the shaft of shift key 23 very gradually, making possible an accurate adjustment of the desired line or space of the staff to the printing point. To enable the printing point to be exactly observed I may provide one or two pointers 82, showing where the center of the note will strike. These pointers are mounted on the frame of the type basket and are therefore maintained in a fixed position with respect to the type bar's,' whether "4, I I5 pivoted at II6 on the type basket.

steady the operator's hand. In addition to the the amplitude of oscillation of the ribbon carflve line stafl', ledger lines 84 above or below the staff are sometimes required. These are printed by a type operated by a key 85, the platen first typewriter is designed to print. When the staff is to be printed the platen is raised by lever I6 until the horizontal middle of the platen is on the level of the pointers 82. The printing of the staff at this position allows space for ledger lines above and below the staff.

An ink ribbon 84 is fed from one of two spools 86 to the other. The direction of feed may be changed in the usual manner by means not shown when the ribbon has become completely wound upon one spool. The ribbon is fed through a ribbon carrier 88, which is oscillated up and down to raise the ribbon to the printing line and to depress it below the printing line after the type has struck, in order to expose the characters printed. This is normal typewriter structure. In accordance with my invention the amplitude of oscillae tion of the ribbon carrier may be varied to allow the ribbon to follow the vertical movement of the platenand be always interposed between the paper and the type when the type strikes. A mechanism for this purpose is ordinarily necessitated by the fact that the vertical dimension of the space within which the notes may be printed upon the staff, with its added ledger lines, is greater than the width of the ink ribbon normally used. In order to carry out this purpose in the simplest way I may make use of the color change mechanism provided in the normal typewriter when such color change mechanism is present. In the Remington Portable typewriter the ribbon carrier oscillating and color change mechanism 'comprises the following instrumentalities: The ribbon carrier 88 is mounted by two parallel swinging arms 98 and 92 upon a support 94 fixed to the carriage. The arm 92 is in the form of a bell crank lever, with a depending arm 98 articulated to another bell crank lever 98, 99 by a link I88. The'opposlte arm 99 of the bell crank lever.,is slotted at I M to receive a pin I 82 fixed to the end of a drag link I84. The forward end of the drag link is connected to an upright arm I88 fixed to a square shaft I88 pivotally mounted in the side walls of the frame 4. Extending forward from the shaft I88 are two rigid arms II8 hearing at their ends a universal Joar II 2 which extends across the keyboard below the shafts'of the keys, in position to be struck by any key depressed. Thus, the striking of any key will pull the drag link forward and, through the linkage described, raise the ribbon to the printing line. The height to which the ribbon is raised is dependent upon the position of the pin I82 in the slot IIII, and this can be adjusted by means of a bell crank lever The end of arm II5 of the bell crank lever is connected by a link II8 to one arm of a bell crank lever I28, I 2|. The arm I2I is connected by a link I22 to a lever I24 pivoted on the frame 4 at I25 and having a knob I28 above the keyboard by which it can be adjusted. In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings the mechanism for changing the amplitude of oscillation of the ribbon carrier is connected with the carriage shift mechanism in such a way that the shifting of the carriage automatically changes modern typewriters.

rier. Thus the lever I24 may be connected by a link I38 with the shaft-of the shift key 22, so

that the position of the pin I82. in slot IN is adjusted automatically by the shift key. The only departure which may be needed from the normal construction of the ordinary typewriter is the addition of the link I38, the reversal of the position of the bell crank lever I28, I2I, the omis-' sion of a forward protuberance at the middle of the slot I8I normally used for disabling the ribbon carrier oscillating mechanism for printing stencils, and the omission of two small lugs on the guide I32 for lever I24, normally used for I determining the three positions of the lever. I

may give the slot I8I a forward protuberance at one end, for stencilling, but it should not be at the middle of the slot, because the connection between the pin I82 and lever arm 99"must be maintained in all positions adjusted by the shift lever.

I have shown my invention applied to one wel known typewriter, by way of example. However, the parts of this typewriter which have been utilized and modified for the purpose of my invention are found in one form or another in most It is thus possible to put my invention into effect with a minimum departure from the practice now followed in making standard typewriters. The invention may be embodied in other forms of apparatus.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a typewriter for musical notation, a platen having a substantially flat supporting surface for a paper; a frame upon which said platen is mounted to move bodily in a horizontal direction; typing means comprising type bars and keys for actuating the same; said type-bars bearing types for musical notation, including one for printing the five lines of the musical staff; and means for imparting step by step movement to said platen comprising a key adjacent the key for actuating said musical staiftype bar, whereby said two keys can be struck together.

2. In a typewriter, a platen having a substantially flat face, a frame upon which said platen is mounted to move bodily in a horizontal direction, a set of type bars mounted on said frame and bearing types for musical notation, means for swinging said type bars individually to bring the types against the paper on said platen, and

' means for relatively shifting said platen and said to adjust the shifting means accurately to in-' tended position.

3. In a typewriter, a platen having a substantially flat face, a frame upon which said platen is mounted to move bodily in a horizontal direction, a set of type bars mounted on said frame and bearing types for musical notation, means for swinging said type barsindividually to bring the types against the paper on said platen, and means for relatively shifting said platen and said type bars in a direction parallel to the fiat face of said platen and perpendicular to the horizontal ovement of said platen, said shifting means c mprising a key lever and a cam lever, said levers being pivoted at different points and having 'interengaging parts whereby said cam lever having a substantially fiat paper supporting surface, typing mechanism arranged to print upon a paper on said platen and comprising type bars bearing types for musical notation, means for relatively shifting said platen and said typing means to allow said types to strike upon difierent transverse lines on the paper, an ink ribbon in front of said platen having a width less than the distance of said relative shift plus the height of said typesgandmeans for shifting the position of said ribbon' so thatit can be interposed between said types and said platen. in each position between the limits of their relative shift.

6. In a typewriter for musical notation, a platen having a substantially flat paper supporting surface, typing mechanism arranged to print upon a paper on said platen and comprising type bars bearing types for musical notation, means for relatively shifting said platen and said typing means to allow said types to strike upon different transverse lines on the paper, an ink ribbon in front of said platen having a width less than the distance of said relative shift plus the height of said types, and means connected with said shifting means for automatically shifting the position of said ribbon so that it will be interposed between said types and said platen in each position between the limits of their relative shift.

7. In a typewriter for musical notation, a platen having a substantially flat paper supporting surface, typing mechanism arranged to print upon 45 a paper on said platen and comprising type bars 2,1os,eos

bearing types for musical notation, means for relatively shifting said platen and said typing means to allow said types to strike upon different transverse lines on the paper, an ink ribbon in front of said platen having a width less than the distance of said relative shift plus the height of said types, and means for oscillating said ribbon from a point of rest below the printing level to the printing level, said 'means including mechanism for changing the extent of oscillation of said ribbon so that it can be interposed between said platen and said types in each position between the limits of their relative shift.

8. In a typewriter for musical notation, a platen having a substantially flat paper supporting surface, typing mechanism arranged to print upon a paper on said platen and comprising type bars bearing types for musical notation, means for relatively shifting said platen and said typing means to allow said types to strike upon difierent transverse lines on the paper, an ink ribbon in front of said platen having a width less than the distance of said relative shift plus the height of said types, and means for oscillating said ribbon from a point of rest below the printing level to the printing level, said means including mechanism operated by said shifting means for automatically changing the extent of oscillation of said ribbon so that it will be interposed between said platen and said types in each position between the limits of their relative shift.

9. In a typewriter, a platen having a substantial flat paper supporting surface, typing mecha in arranged to print, upon a paper on the platen and comprising type bars, means for relatively shifting the platen and the typing means tion between the limits of their relative shift.

WILLIAM A. FOWLER. 

